Internal Sin Film Spotlight

Today’s film spotlight focuses on the short film Internal Sin directed by Mauricio Reyes.

What is the title of your film and what inspired said title?

The inspiration behind the title, Internal Sin, was the concept of how members of religious communities try to avoid sinful activity externally, yet internally may have a sinful mind.

Tell us a little bit about the story and origins of your film.

The story is about a religious couple living together in the name of survival. However, unwelcome sexual tension quickly begins to threaten their safety. While quarantining during COVID-19, in order to save up money because no income was coming in from my non-essential job, I stayed with my brother and his fiancée. It was awkward staying with them for a long period of time because I eventually witnessed their arguments.

Private battles turned public. Being sheltered with your significant other 24/7 can take a toll on a relationship, and it was this point of contention that became the focal point in the story.

Any films or filmmakers that inspired this film?

I would say Ari Aster’s slow burn, psychological horror film, Hereditary, was a film I saw as an inspiration. Other filmmakers I would include are Takashi Miike, David Cronenberg, and Julia Ducournau.

What is the goal of the film for you?

The goal of my film is to encourage conversation about how sexual urges can clash with religious beliefs, and in turn, how they can manifest in ugly ways.

What has the journey been like getting the film into production?

It’s been a long journey. Two years to be exact. Initially, the film’s script was a last- minute assignment for my directing class as the pandemic first shut down my university. Later, the script was workshopped during the remainder of my senior year. It was a project I wanted to do as my senior capstone film. However, that wouldn’t be possible, as the pandemic restricted me and my film student peers from being on sets. After graduation, I couldn’t shake the idea of making the film. I workshopped the script some more with some of my filmmaking friends and from there we all decided to make this film into reality. We shot the film in four days in my producer’s apartment in February 2022.

One thing you learned from this project?

One thing I’ve learned from working on this project is to never deal with candles ever again. Although my production designer did an excellent job on set in making the film look a certain way, the candles affected the crew’s allergies during shooting, including mine. Benadryl kept some of us alive.

How can folks find you and your film online?

They can find me on my website, www.mauriciorgomez.com, which also includes some other projects that I’ve worked on. Currently, the film is being submitted to film festivals, so it’s not available online at this moment, but it will be soon.

Any last pieces of advice for fellow filmmakers?

Find a producer that believes in your film. My script was controversial enough that many didn’t want to touch it. But my producer took a chance and wanted to see this film through. Be patient and get used to the rejections. Eventually, you will find someone who will hear you out. As the saying goes: When one door closes, another opens, and leads to opportunity.

For more reviews and content stick with To Tony Productions and don’t forget to subscribe to our blog to stay up to date!